Theater Pros: Spectacular 'Speaks Directly to the Individual'

CHICAGO-At the opening night performance of the Chinese New Year Spectacular in Chicago on Friday, a couple of theater pros discovered a unique theater experience.

Amy Bolin works as a stage manager in theater productions in Milwaukee, and her husband Dylan as an actor, writer, and director. They typically bring a different perspective to attending theater than others in the audience.

As Dylan said, "It is difficult for us to attend a show and not look beneath the papier mâché to see the wheels turning underneath. But with this show it is different."

Amy tried to explain what made the Spectacular special, "It is all amazing: the movement, the drums, the costumes."

Then Amy remembered their drive down from Milwaukee to Chicago. "We came rushing in to the theater. We barely made it. The traffic was really horrible. And then we have this amazing show. It has a really peaceful flow. Now we feel completely different."

Dylan volunteered that the Spectacular "has a real integrity to the skill, an integrity that will stay with me for a long time after this show tonight."

He continued, "The show has honesty. It is not a put-on skill. It is real. It can reach much deeper because it is not superficial."

Amy suggested, "There is something missing in large-scale shows, that is not missing in this show."

Dylan agreed. "Despite the scope of the show there is a real intimacy. It speaks directly to the individual. This is really rare."

Dylan felt this intimacy allowed the show to work in different settings, "This is a large show. But something like this could be any size. It could be very effective in a small venue."

Amy said they would "absolutely recommend this show to others."

Dylan agreed, "We would love to bring this show to Milwaukee. We know just the right venue for it."

Asked whether the Spectacular would play in Milwaukee next year, Dylan said, "If we have anything to do with it, it will."

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Divine Performing Arts shows that will perform in over 60 cities worldwide in 2008. To find a show near you, please visit www.bestchineseshows.com.